(CNN) - Accused Arizona gunman Jared Lee Loughner was not registered to any political party, and in fact hand wrote "independent" on two separate voter forms, county officials said Monday.

Pima County, Arizona, Registrar of Voters Chris Roads said Loughner registered to vote on September 26, 2006. Voters are not required to list a political party, but are instructed to write at least the first three letters of any party they want to be affiliated with. The state of Arizona recognizes dozens of affiliations.FULL POST

(CNN)–President Barack Obama will travel to Arizona on Wednesday in the wake of the weekend shooting there that left six people dead and 14 wounded, including a member of Congress, two senior administration officials told CNN Monday.

The president will likely attend a memorial service and visit with victims' families in Tucson, the sources said. He has already spoken to many of the family members by phone.

Washington (CNN) – Some Democrats are not so subtly using the tragedy in Arizona to point fingers at Republicans for stoking inflammatory political rhetoric, but Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver says there is blame on both sides.

"We have Democrats saying dumb things every single day, and Republicans as well," said Cleaver.FULL POST

(CNN) - CNN welcomes Bryan Monroe as editor of CNNPolitics.com. In this newly created role, Monroe will lead the editorial planning and content strategy for CNN’s online and mobile political coverage, expanding the political reporting across CNN.com, The Political Ticker and all mobile products.

Most recently, Monroe was a visiting professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and is a former president of NABJ, the National Association of Black Journalists. He served as Vice President and Editorial Director at Ebony and Jet magazines in Chicago, leading the coverage of the 2008 presidential elections. He also conducted the first interview with then President-elect Barack Obama following his election victory in November, 2008.

“I am thrilled to be joining CNN and the nation’s ‘best political team,’ particularly at a time when political coverage is at the front and center of the national conversation,” Monroe said. “Helping extend those conversations across the Web and mobile devices is an exciting new challenge.”

AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) - A Texas judge is sending "The Hammer" to prison. Former Republican leader Tom DeLay was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after a jury found him guilty of money laundering and conspiracy.

DeLay emotionally asked the judge for leniency. "I've lost my right to vote. Just because someone disagrees with you, it's not enough, they have to bury you, throw you in jail." DeLay arrived at the Austin courthouse in good spirits earlier today jokingly telling reporters he "had a date with the judge today." During his days in Congress, he earned the nickname "The Hammer."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - For Rep. Jackie Speier, the vicious attack on her colleague Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, Arizona, brought back a chilling memory of when she faced an attempt on her life.

In November 1978, Speier and her boss, Democratic Rep. Leo Ryan, went to Jonestown, Guyana, to investigate Rev. Jim Jones' People's Temple, which had members from Ryan's California district.Full Story

Washington (CNN) - Lobbyist and former Congressional aide Ashley Turton, wife of a top White House staffer, was killed Monday in an early morning fire in her garage, according to sources familiar with the still-unfolding investigation.

D.C. Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer would not confirm the identity of the victim but said the first emergency calls came in around 5 a.m. ET. He said "the main theory now is that this was a crash event and then a fire" in the garage adjacent to Turton's home on Capitol Hill.FULL POST

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Obama spoke about the shootings in Tucson, Arizona again on Monday saying he was reflecting about what happened not only as the commander-in-chief but also as a father.

"Right now, the main thing we're doing is to offer our thoughts and prayers to those who have been impacted, making sure that we're joining together and pulling together as a country," said Obama, "and, as President of the United States, but also as a father, obviously, I'm spending a lot of time just thinking about the families and reaching out to them."FULL POST